Cycling Through A Dust Storm
The day after being forced to turn around and head back the way we came, Brandon and I faced another difficult day on the bikes. The wind was blowing at our camp that morning, but we decided to press on. We were anxious to get back on Iceland’s main road and make some forward progress. So, we turned back around and let the wind blow us down the valley, up and over a number of small hills, and back to the highway. From there, we cycled for more than 20 kilometers through the worst dust storm either one of us has ever experienced (we had to navigate the entire time with just one eye open – there was that much dust in the air), where we finally found shelter inside the gas station in the city of Kirkjubaejarklaustur. Brandon did not like riding through all that dust (and neither did I), but it was certainly a memorable experience. Unfortunately, there aren’t very many photos of the dust storm. I was too afraid to take my camera out of its bag most of the time… and I was too focused on simply making it out alive! Below is a photo that Brandon took of himself after reaching the gas station in Kirkjubaejarklaustur.
